If I understand this correctly, a processor that has 1.6 Ghz in a Desktop will run faster than the same processor labeled 1.6 Ghz in a laptop. Is that correct? And if so, here's my problem: I want to buy a laptop. My desktop has 2.80Ghz which easily handles the stuff I need it to - perhaps it's more than I need -- I can't be sure (I just know it works). (I have kind of a big program that allows me to trade futures in real time.) I need to be able to know how big of a processor it will take for a laptop to handle the same thing. And apparently the 'dual core' adds somthing to the mix. Is there a conversion chart somewhere, or even a rule of thumb, that I can use to help me decide how big and what I need to buy?
Originally posted by SherylM:If I understand this correctly, a processor that has 1.6 Ghz in a Desktop will run faster than the same processor labeled 1.6 Ghz in a laptop. Is that correct?
Not exactly. Desktop processors, until recently, ran at full speed all the time, whereas laptop processors are designed to slow down when the workload is light, and speed up again when an intensive task is started. That way, they run cooler and use less power, important considerations in a laptop stuation when a battery supplies power.
These days, this technology is moving into desktop processors, so the difference is becoming less clear cut.
You have to compare like with like though. If you had a 1.6 GHz desktop Pentium 4, and a laptop with a mobile 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 type processor, you would expect them to do work at a roughly similar rate, if they had the same amount of memory.
Quote:And if so, here's my problem: I want to buy a laptop. My desktop has 2.80Ghz which easily handles the stuff I need it to - perhaps it's more than I need -- I can't be sure (I just know it works). (I have kind of a big program that allows me to trade futures in real time.) I need to be able to know how big of a processor it will take for a laptop to handle the same thing. And apparently the 'dual core' adds somthing to the mix. Is there a conversion chart somewhere, or even a rule of thumb, that I can use to help me decide how big and what I need to buy?
A laptop with a 2.8 GHz processor might well chew through its workload at roughly the same rate as a desktop equipped with the same speed processor would. A dual core processor can run certain software faster, only if that software has been written to take advantage of the dual cores.
Horses for courses is the motto. Some laptops are designed to supplement a desktop PC, that is, compromises are made in the design to achieve lightness, lower cost, and battery life. You don't mind things taking longer because you have the mobility. If you envisaged doing mostly basic office tasks this would be the type to consider. Other laptops are full-on desktop replacements, with big displays, better keyboards, powerful processors, plenty of memory, and large hard disks. This comes at a price though, both at initial purchase time and in the event of any repairs or upgrades being needed later.
A slower laptop can do all the things a faster one can, it just takes longer.
Hope this helps. You could purchase some computer magazines that have articles about laptop buying decisions and reviews
Thank you so much for that comprehensive and easy to understand answer. I will check out the magazines to which you refer and see what they recommend, too.
